Session XXVI

Hammer of Thromneal
Adamantine Plate
Mithral Chainmail
Sword of the Deep
Dragontooth Dagger
Ring of the Ram
Spear of the Sentry
The Goblin Slayer

After defeating the dwarven demi-golem, Dolmir and the party attempted to solve a puzzle, which opened the door to the ancient city of Dhargorum. After a few failed attempts, Dolmir figured it out, using the inscription in the stone tablet. The party descended into the city's ruins.
They arrived in a corridor with a large rusted iron gate at one end and railroad tracks leading into a mine on the other. After failing to open the door, they decided to follow the tracks. They led into a large mine with a series of tunnels, where the party discovered some bones with strange marks on them. The marks were thin stripes cut into the bone, but they couldn't determine their cause. They also met a couple of Goblin families which had built homes and mushroom farms in the mines. Dolmir was offended by their presumption to move into the Dwarven homeland but allowed them to stay after they gave him some wonderful mushroom stew. The Goblins also warned the party of the presence of Trolls in the nearby cave.
The party continued into the Troll cave, with two of the mercenaries going ahead. Kwahoo was captured by one of the trolls and almost eaten but the party intervened in time and managed to defeat the two trolls. The Trolls were guarding a bridge across a river of lava, which the party crossed. They then noticed an iron gate similar to the one they had failed to open earlier. Kwahoo used a magical ring he had gotten in the Trolls' den to open the gate which led into the outskirts of Dhargorum.
The party explored the industrial area of the city, finding some more bones with strange marks and new magic items in an abandoned fort. They then stumbled into a large foundry, where a forge was being operated by a Hobgoblin named Glokkug. They spoke to him and he told them of the Goblin City of Krennarrahk. They requested to be led to it, and he obliged for a small price. They paid the fee to enter the city and discovered a small but busy town. Glokkug left them to their own devices and they spent the evening in a pleasant tavern, where they drank the local beverages and observed the Goblins carousing. Their archeologist companion, Jordri Nabblewobble, also seduced one of the Goblin waitresses. They slept at the tavern and met with Rarug, King of the Goblins, the next morning. King Rarug told them of a curse in the city of Dhargorum, which is why the Goblins stay out of it. He also offered them a guide to lead them to an abandoned Dwarven citadel, which has an entrance into the city proper. In exchange, the party promised to facilitate a trade deal between the Goblins and the overworld.
The party traversed a crumbling bridge to arrive at the Dwarven citadel and explored the structure, finding more ancient artifacts. They then descended into the cavern which houses the remains of the city of Dhargorum. The cavern was covered in strange fungi, which covered most of the structures and the ground. The sight was still breathtaking, the ancient city unlike anything any of the adventurers had ever seen. Dolmir determined their destination to be the palace suspended from the middle of the cavern's ceiling. They made their way into the maze of the city streets, hearing strange clicks and noises from the streets around them. Finally, they encountered a group of undead Dwarves, overgrown with fungi. They fought them off and continued onwards, chased by a group of zombies too large for them to fight. A second group blocked their path but one of the mercenaries summoned a rope leading into a pocket dimension, where they hid from the undead and waited for them to pass. The party then continued to one of the great stone pillars which lead to the palace. They climbed it and crossed the bridge leading to their destination.
The party arrived on a balcony under which the strangest sight so far greeted them. An undead Dragon, covered in the same fungi which had overgrown the city, curled around a pedestal upon which the Hammer of Thromneal rested. The floor of the chamber was covered in fungi and spores would shoot into the air from time to time. Chelsea and one of the hirelings attempted to sneak up to the Hammer and steal it from under the sleeping Dragon's nose. The mercenary almost managed to grab it but slipped at the last moment and crashed onto the Dragon's tail, waking him. An epic battle ensued, with the party fighting tooth and claw to survive the Dragon's powerful attacks. Jordri Nabblewobble, the archeologist, succumbed to the fungi on the ground of the cavern, which consumed him. In the meantime, Chelsea grabbed the Hammer of Thromneal, bonding with it and maniacally betraying the party. Dolmir started wrestling with him for the Hammer, as the mercenaries fought the undead monster. The Dragon was finally brought to the ground, where Veregarub the Orc beat its skull in with his bare fists, slaying it. By that point Dolmir had been knocked down by an undead Dwarf and Chelsea had fooled most of the party that he was dead, by casting an illusion of a rock falling onto him. One of the mercenaries, however, Rodrik the Gnomish artificer, was not fooled, and crushed Chelsea's skull, killing him. Dolmir finally raised the Hammer of Thromneal in triumph, achieving his goal against all odds.